Archive for the 'Dane Cook' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

Critically lauded Canadian star Abel Tesfaye, who in the past two years has emerged as a new paradigm of progressive R&B under the moniker the Weeknd, will issue his second proper album, Kiss Land, at the end of summer – and not long after make his headlining debut at the Greek Theatre with two shows, Sept. 16-17, $39.50-$55.

That auspicious occasion will be preceded by a Sept. 14 appearance at Santa Barbara Bowl, $36-$50. Anna Lunoe and Banks open all dates. The Greek shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., with the Bowl gig becoming available two hours after that.

Also coming to the Greek is a superb pairing of atmospheric groove ensembles, Thievery Corporation and Morcheeba, Sept. 20, $39-$70, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

Backstreet Boys: In addition to their Sept. 6 performance at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, which went on sale in May, the pop group has tacked on a Sept. 4 show at Gibson Amphitheatre, $19.75-$129.75, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. As in Irvine, Jesse McCartney and DJ Pauly D also appear.

There are more reasons to hail American comedy institution Bill Cosby than there are credits in his filmography and discography combined. He holds more honorary doctorates (from Yale, Baylor, Amherst and elsewhere) than most presidents, and on his mantle sits the Medal of Freedom, as well as the Mark Twain Prize for humor. He didn't wind up the Olympic track star he dreamed of becoming as a boy, but when he's in the mood to pretend, he can always put his Kennedy Center Honors medal around his neck.

Yet the thing about Cosby most worth praising after his warm, kinda crotchety but very, very funny performance Saturday night at Pacific Amphitheatre is perhaps his most fundamental trait: his nimble mind, still concocting wry observations after all these years.

Comedians (at least the smart ones) tend not to deliver greatest-hits sets. You might catch Dane Cook types yammering through popular bits in arenas when their appeal is at a peak, but otherwise repetition is anathema to the art form. Hollering out familiar punch lines is for frat boys and Andrew “Dice” Clay fans – most people want to laugh at something new when they pay for shows. Once a comic has cycled through another season of touring, it's time to think up fresh material.

At 74, however, Cosby has certainly earned the right to dust off some classics, and undoubtedly plenty of longtime fans would delight in the chance to hear once more about “Old Weird Harold,” or playing “Buck Buck” with Fat Albert, or perhaps the hilarious trip to the dentist he shared in Bill Cosby: Himself.

But this is a master who refuses to rest on his laurels. Rather than spend a half-hour in Costa Mesa retelling one of his most poignant stories – “To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With,” which won him his fifth of an unmatched six Grammys in a row for best comedy performance, from 1965-1970 – Cosby revisited those same years growing up in the Philadelphia projects with newer tales.

November 30th, 2010, 9:12 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Just because Steve-O is now cleaned-up doesn't mean he's slowing down. For the outrageous star, what was once a bleak future now beams brightly thanks to sobriety, the phenomenal success of Jackass 3D in theaters and with his latest endeavor, a legitimate career in stand-up.

Known for his over-the-top and sometimes just plain disgusting antics on Jackass as well as its spin-off, Wildboyz, the daredevil born Stephen Glover is bringing his freshly polished stage act to comedy clubs across the country. He stops at the Irvine Improv later this week for six shows across four nights that he says will include stand-up as well as “bar tricks.”

He didn't elaborate on what kinds of “tricks” those might be -- but one can safely assume, based on what he's done on television and in movies, they won't be tame.

“It's been a little bit of an uphill battle to get people to believe that I'm doing a good job at stand-up,” he says during a recent phone interview. “It's just a matter of getting them there. I've been really working on it hard.”

Steve-O's interest in developing an act was re-sparked, he says, after living through the filming of the latest Jackass installment. He has dabbled in the art for the past four years, but after re-entering the spotlight after a two-year stay in a sober living facility, the 36-year-old felt he was ready to take on more responsibility.

September 30th, 2010, 11:15 am by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

With 20 years of stand-up work under his belt -- leading to numerous and oft-quoted comedy specials, millions of albums sold and a steady run of gigantic sold-out shows -- Dane Cook couldn't be any happier. Until recently, that is, when his joy grew even more by scheduling shows at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, a venue he's dreamed about headlining for years.

“Is it OK to scream? Woohoo!” Cook blurted out enthusiastically during a recent phone interview. “I can't believe it. It's something I've wanted to do for a very long time and I'm digging it.”

That may seem strange, coming from a man who has packed Madison Square Garden, but it's all part of the next chapter of Cook's life. Though the comedian, 38, has spent the past few years performing in front of 20,000-50,000 people a night, including at places as vast as the Gator Bowl, he now has fresh material to deliver, so he wanted to simplify things on his next outing by sticking to smaller-capacity venues.

To warm up for the tour, which officially kicks off in late October, Cook will appear before a hometown crowd Saturday at the Greek, although a second show, on Sunday, has been canceled due to scheduling conflicts. Refunds are available, and those who buy tickets for Saturday instead and bring their refunded Sunday tickets to the venue will receive a $25 tour T-shirt.

“Last year I did arenas -- I did 80 through the U.S. and Canada in 14 months,” Cook recalls. “I had also hit 20 years of doing stand-up comedy and it was a dream, playing big venues with big audiences. This time I wanted to hit some spots that I couldn't do before because they didn't have the capacity arenas I was looking at. I want to go to places where people could use some entertainment in this economy and could do with a feel-good show that won't break their bank account. It's going to be good.”

Here's what you've been waiting to find out: tickets, $79.45-$115.65 for Anaheim, $79-$99 for L.A., go on sale Monday at 10 a.m.

And here's another alert: tickets for Weezer's recently announced two-gig post-Thanksgiving bash at Gibson Amphitheatre goes on sale Friday at 10 a.m. As they will do in only few other cities, one night (Nov. 26) will be devoted to 1994's self-titled Blue Album in its entirety, plus a set of hits, while the next show (Nov. 27) will be given to Pinkerton, along with a different set of hits. Prices are $27.50-$106.25.

Country star Clint Black is back, coming to the Grove of Anaheim on Dec. 8, $55-$65, while fresh from last years British Steel shows with Judas Priest, metal legend Rob Halford (pictured) heads to the venue on Dec. 19, $35 in advance, $40 day of show. Both of those go on sale Saturday at noon.

Last weekend brought the major unveiling of the Black Pacific, Jim Lindberg's new band -- and this week brings news that his old band, Pennywise, carrying on with Ignite vocalist Zoli Teglas, will headline Mike V's Glory Bound Festival, a day of rock and skateboarding, Nov. 13 at the Hollywood Palladium. Also performing are Alkaline Trio,Authority Zero and Nations Afire, while an outdoor all-star skateboarding jam will feature Tony Alva, Steve Caballero, Christian Hosoi and Lance Mountain. Tickets, $43, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Now that Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have kissed and made up -- gee, that didn't take very long, eh? -- and no one else in the band has a surgery planned, Aerosmith is claiming to be Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock. I'll believe it when I see it, but that's the name of their current tour, anyway, kicking off in Oakland in July.

These stateside dates come after a handful of shows in South America, a stretch that, as I write this, probably just ended in Costa Rica, where the Boston boys were expected to play to that country's largest audience ever. (The Associated Press pic, by the way, is from 10 days ago in Lima, Peru.) Their run through Latin countries will next be followed by a string of dates throughout Europe.

Ticket prices are tba for Verizon but $57.75-$194.25 for Vegas, so I'd expect the orchestra seats in Irvine to be within $25 of that top amount. The Grand Garden gig, as with the Oakland show at the Oracle Arena, goes on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. The Verizon show goes up next week, with a pre-sale starting June 9 and the public on-sale slated for June 12 at 10 a.m.

Gibson Amphitheatre and the Greek Theatre revealed the rosters for their Premier Marquee Club, the venues' annual joint subscriber series, and as usual it's loaded up with rare encounters along with plenty of old reliables.

Which offerings are the most tantalizing depends on what sort of concert-goer you are -- the entire list of shows can be viewed at the end of this post -- but many that stand out immediately are several headed to the Greek, including:

Spanish tenor Jose Carreras' first appearance at the amphitheater in 15 years, with full orchestra, June 26

September 26th, 2008, 12:07 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The newly opened Laugh Factory in Long Beach and the nonprofit organization Cops 4 Causes are presenting “Comedy Uniting Communities,” a charity event benefiting various local organizations, on Oct. 15.

The event will be hosted by Wendi McLendon-Covey from Reno 911 and David Zayas of Dexter and will feature comics Tom Arnold, Paul Rodriguez, Dom Irrera, Judy Tenuta and a special appearance by Dane Cook. (Granted, we've been through this before. Cook was slated to headline the venue's grand opening just last weekend ... but failed to show up. Read about that here.)

Cops 4 Causes is an organization of peace officers engaged in raising funds and awareness to benefit children, adults and law enforcement personnel with cancer, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, intellectual disabilities, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and other life-altering disabilities. The organization also helps family members of law enforcement officers who have been devastated by death or disability while on the job.

This particular event benefits the wife and three children of Los Angeles County Deputy Juan “Abel” Escalante, who was gunned down on the morning of Aug. 2. Other proceeds will go to the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, Special Olympics Southern California and California Peace Officers' Memorial.

September 22nd, 2008, 4:11 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

I was feeling really bummed about the show at the Laugh Factory on Saturday night. With all of the hype and all of the no-shows, it left me hoping this wasn't a sign of things to come for the place. The venue itself, as I said in the article, was spectacular -- any comic (at least the ones I know) would be stoked to perform on a stage like that.

My spirits were lifted today, however, when Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada called me to explain, but not defend, the opening-night mishaps.

According to Masada, a series of unfortunate events took place . The valet parking situation hadn't been worked out. Dane Cook had to cancel at the last minute due to promotion obligations for his new film My Best Friend's Girl. Jamie Kennedy had an accident on the 405 on his way to the show. Brad Garrett had to pull out last-minute as well -- hard to do much else on Emmys weekend -- but he will be performing at the venue in a few weeks. (Details coming soon. Check back at laughfactory.com).

Masada calls Saturday's event a “soft opening” and plans to do an even bigger event in about six weeks, in which he hopes to have even the smallest of kinks fully worked out.

Masada, who has owned the Los Angeles Laugh Factory for 29 years, has always been a huge supporter of the stand-up scene. So many comic greats have graced his club - Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy, just to name a few. Masada says he created the beautiful $10 million Long Beach spot because he wanted to give comedians the type of venue they deserve to perform in.

September 19th, 2008, 2:16 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Long Beach is about to get a whole lot funnier. The world-famous Laugh Factory is celebrating its grand opening at 8 p.m. on Saturday with a red-carpet party and show featuring headliner Dane Cook and guests Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond, 'Til Death), Jamie Kennedy, Jon Lovitz, Paul Rodriguez and Bob Saget, with many more slated to attend.

The $10 million, 670-seat, two-story venue will also be home to the Stand-Up Comedy Hall of Fame and feature hundreds of pieces of memorabilia from such greats as the Marx Brothers, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin and Abbott & Costello.

The Laugh Factory is located at 151 Pine Ave. in Long Beach (at Pike and Rainbow Harbor). This event is open to the public and tickets are available by calling Michael Blanchard from The United Jewish Federation at 323-761-8314 or email mblanchard@jewishla.org. Tickets are $75-$125, but going fast. All proceeds go to the UJF, which funds social service, educational and humanitarian services in Israel and around the world.